Musings, observations, and wonder at life's width and depth through a U.S. ex-patriot's eyes.

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Oct 7 - Photo a Day - Light

The Queen: Penny Soaks up the Sun

Our Brilliant Sol

It's a very cool 8 degrees Celsius/47 Fahrenheit outside, and after a chilly foray into the neighbourhood, our little girl took a blissful nap on her perch in the lightest and warmest spot in the house. Her bed rests atop my Grampsy's hassock, which is filled, as it's been most of my life, with toys for visiting (human) children. Both sit right next to my rocker -- my writing chair -- in our front, nearly floor-to-ceiling south-facing windows.

Light, especially natural sunlight makes me happy, too. A few people I know actually require sunlight to maintain balanced moods. With a lack of it, they suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The shorter days of winter and many gray, drizzly days in the Pacific Northwest almost literally press them down into a funky depression. While sitting in front of extremely bright, full-spectrum light panels or traveling to sunnier climes can help, the best remedy seems to be the return of more daylight. I feel for them, and have often wished my annual budget included a couple of extra plane tickets to the tropics.

Outside our window, and across North America, deciduous trees are blazing in full glory, partially triggered by the shortening days, partly by dropping temperatures. The air is sharp with the smell of fallen leaves -- a scent that made unexpected laughter burst out of me on Friday. Between these puffy white clouds lies a bright blue sky, and luckily for all of us who thrive in the sun's rays, we still have another month or two of ten-hours-of-daylight days.